One of the intriguing questions in the field of systems neuroscience is the impact that cortical-cortical interactions have on a how a subject perceives and discriminates various sensory stimuli. A number of neurological diseases have been found, or have been predicted to be, the result of abnormal connectivity between different regions of the brain. These neurological diseases include, but are not limited to autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite the knowledge of this correlation, the functional connectivity between brain regions is quite difficult to study, and most studies currently employ methods that are not only high in cost (such as fMRI), but also in the amount of time that it takes to make the observations necessary to gain insight into the interactions that take place between different cortical regions.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide devices and methods for performing diagnostic tests that can directly and non-invasively measure cortical-cortical interactions of a subject and also provide devices that can rapidly, painlessly and quantitatively assess functional connectivity in the central nervous system.